Webflow's Enterprise-Grade Website Hosting

Netflix and Facebook simultaneously provide great performance to billions of users. How?

In a world that demands reliability above all else, it's vital that your website performs well for every user, not just some. But how can you ensure that your website performs at its best at all times? Read on as we explore the four key elements that make up great business and enterprise website hosting.

01. Speed

How long do you stick around for websites to load? Typically other users don’t wait longer than three seconds and for good reason - there’s always another option that will load faster. Fortunately, by pairing with the right web host you can avoid slow loading and be the faster option.

For those unsure of web host dynamics, they work by storing and distributing website data through a server which then makes a website accessible. The closer a web visitor is in physical distance to a web host’s server the faster a website will load. Speed then becomes problematic for web hosts with small amounts of server (many have one).

The key is to find a web host with multiple servers that are dotted around the globe. This mega host is called a Content Distribution Network (CDN). 

With so many server points, CDNs can deliver website data to web visitors via the server closest to them. This makes for quick loading no matter where a person is. 

Because we aim to develop a great user experience for all websites designed and developed at N4, we use Amazon Web Services - a leading CDN used by the likes of Netflix, LinkedIn and Facebook. With over three times the amount of servers than a regular provider, our combination of AWS with other key protocols allows for enterprise-grade scalability & security.

02. Scalability

The level of traffic your website can handle ultimately comes down to how many requests your server can take at once. So when building your hosting infrastructure, it's vital that you know exactly what will happen to performance as site traffic increases.

Content distribution networks are a key requirement to meet the needs of more demanding websites. By storing data across multiple servers the weight of visitor traffic can be shared, creating infinite-scalability. Because we believe in the power and importance of scalability, N4 has become a Webflow Enterprise Partner to bring you the exclusive perks of the innovative platform.

03. Reliability

Poor website performance can be detrimental to a customer's perception of a brand.

There are plenty of low cost hosting options available, but they’re typically the ones that store data in shared hosting spaces. This means if neighbouring servers get a spike in traffic, your website can also be affected and subsequently crash.

So what you ultimately want in a business web hosting provider is one that is reliable.

04. Security (HTTPS/SSL)

In 1995 a point of security was released for Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and named the Secure Socket Layer (SSL). What it does is allow websites to handle confidential information without the fear of it being shared without permission.

The SSL is now considered a web performance essential and you will find most websites have one today. To discover if they’re SSL secured take a look at the URL. Usually you’ll see the S (for “secure”) in https:// or instead a lock icon if you’re exploring from Google Chrome browser.

Not only is it important for avoiding misuse of shared user information, but it’s also vital for SEO too. In 2014 Google announced that websites without an SSL certificate will be exposed to search ranking penalties.

Fortunately, a good web hosting service will provide SSL certificates for you. In your search for the perfect web host, make this a requirement.

Need a Hand? Let’s Talk

Speed, reliability, scalability, and security are essential for website hosting at a business or enterprise level. Fortunately with the help of a robust infrastructure and professional guidance, businesses are able to focus on what they do best, not whether their website is working.

To keep growing in line with market demands, we trust Webflow Enterprise to ensure our website launches go live with enterprise-grade speed, reliability, scalability, and security. This is just one of the many benefits of partnering with an experienced Webflow agency.